This is a wicked good read.

I review Steve Buckley’s Wicked Good Year.

A great read about the incredible Boston sports year of 2007.

The Red Sox and the Celtics took home championships. The Patriots were 3 minutes from a perfect season and the Bruins were the Bruins.

Sit back and enjoy my video review.

This book is wicked good and wicked pissah too!

BST&N's Book Of The Month

This is a video book review of Jared Carrabis’ book , “One Fan’s Story, If This Hat Could Talk.”

Learn about the life and love for the Sox from the words of the Massachusetts Governor of Red Sox Nation.

If you love the Sox and the power of social media then this book is for you. It was a fantastic read about a fantastic journey!

This is a must read for any sports fan.

A book has to grab my attention right away or it finds its way to the Land of Lost Toys AND Books.

“When The Game Was Ours” did not find its way to that place. This book brought me back to memories of my youth.

As a child of the 80’s, my fondest sports memories were of Celtics-Lakers on Sunday afternoons.

Bird. McHale. The Chief. Magic. Worthy. Kareem.

These are all names that are interwoven into the fabric of my sports soul.

To say I was excited to read this book is an understatement!

The journey starts with the tandem of Bird and Johnson telling the stories of their childhoods in French Lick and East Lansing.  You learn about their high school playing days and how they were courted by the big time college basketball programs.

Bird would choose the powerhouse of Indiana coached by the infamous Bobby Knight and Magic stayed with his hometown school of Michigan State.

You will discover the reasons for Bird’s transition from Indiana to dropping out of school and then being wooed by Indiana State. Bird was very close to cutting his basketball career short.

The rivalry between Magic and Bird would start in college culminating with the 1979 NCAA championship.

This is when Magic and Bird followed each other’s career obsessively.

This is when the rivalry bloomed.

This is when the NBA became relevant again.

Magic won a championship with the Lakers in 1980. Bird had to win one himself which he did in 1981.

Bird and the Celtics would beat the Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals.

Bird finally got even with Magic for his NCAA title game loss.

Magic would return the favor in the 1985 NBA Finals.

Their competitive fire was burning hotter than ever.

Both players had an admiration for the other but had no off court relationship at all.

However, that all changed in the fall of 1985.

A Converse commercial brought the two together.

They would realize they had a lot in common.

They became friends and kindred spirits.

Magic and Bird would meet again in the Finals in 1987.  Magic’s Lakers would come out on top again.

However, their friendship would continue to grow.

Larry was there for Magic when he was diagnosed with HIV in November 7, 1991, which generated a league wide scare.

You will also read about the strain of the friendship between Magic and Isiah Thomas. It would be a relationship that started to deteriorate after Thomas’ racial comments about Larry Bird and then his questioning of Magic’s sexuality.

Magic and Bird forged their friendship on a Converse commercial shoot back in 1985.

You will also get inside information and stories from the 1992 Olympics and the Dream Team. A new rivalry between Magic and Jordan would be formed. Bird and Jordan would become close friends at the same time. And Isiah Thomas would be left off the roster for a variety of reasons.

These are just some of the stories and moments you will learn about Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird in their own words.

You do not have to love the Celtics or Lakers. This is a must read for any basketball or sports fan. If you want to learn how the NBA was saved and rejuvenated, pick up “When The Game Was Ours.”

Makes a great holiday gift as well!

]]> http://boston.sportsthenandnow.com/2009/12/04/bstn%e2%80%99s-book-of-the-month-when-the-game-was-ours/feed/ 4 http://boston.sportsthenandnow.com/2009/11/03/1131/ http://boston.sportsthenandnow.com/2009/11/03/1131/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:01:31 +0000 Dean Hybl http://boston.sportsthenandnow.com/?p=1131

The Die-Hard Sports Fan’s Guide to Boston is the only comprehensive guide to the incredible sports history and current sports in Boston. Christopher Klein has set the city’s legendary sports history against the practical information devoted Boston fans want.

Boston Sports Then and Now is featuring this excellent new Boston sports guide throughout November.

We will feature a book review, interview with author Christopher Klein and guest posts by Klein that provide sneak peaks into some of the stories covered in the book.

You can also enter the Boston Sports Then and Now Boston Trivia Contest to win a copy of The Die Hard Sports Fan’s Guide To Boston. Click here to see how much you know about Boston Sports History.